Rust Belt Blues
(Cuyahoga Records)

In a world where mainstream acts less and less often reflect the honest traditional country music scene, it’s always nice to have a breath of fresh air. Oliver Buck brings us that and more on his new album, Rust Belt Blues, a largely country/folk/blues record that conjures the work of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.

Buck, co-founder of the band Percival, decided to go solo after the group’s break-up in 2006. While Percival’s sound was a mostly alt-country one, Buck’s debut album is more stripped-down, consisting of just three instruments—Buck’s voice, guitar, and bass. According to Buck, Rust Belt Blues is a “small budget, self-produced record, and the sound is more direct and intimate than anything I’ve ever done before.”

That intimate, stripped-down sound gives him a chance to showcase his wonderful voice and excellent musicianship, a combination that gives way to consistently good songs with few disappointments.

Buck wrote a few of the songs for this album, like “Troubadour Life,” in which he sings about being a full-time musician and playing in bar after bar, every night: “Livin’ to play and playin’ to live / it ain’t easy to explain or do.”

However, he shines most in his simple arrangements of older songs, like the classic track “Wreck of the Old ’97” and The Band’s “Bessie Smith.”

Oliver Buck has already accomplished much as a musician, and Rust Belt Blues adds to these accomplishments while also revealing more of his traditional roots. We don’t know where Buck will be going next, but it will definitely be exciting to see where he takes us.